Rochester in the Process of Getting Its Own Vegan School!

When we heard about Milan’s all-vegan kindergarten, we were excited. Now the good news comes a little closer to home. Rochester River School in Upstate New York is in the process of opening as a self-sustaining vegan school, from kindergarten up to the 12th grade!

Not only would the school be entirely vegan with free plant-based lunches provided to students with them taking active roles in harvesting and cooking the said lunches, the curriculum would focus on “humane education”. While the school has not been approved as of yet, the goal is to open doors for a kindergarten in the fall of 2017, while adding another grade every year. Co-founder of the school, Joel Helfrich, states:

“We have to figure out whether the USDA will provide money for a lunch that doesn’t include dairy. If that’s the case, we can take some government funding in order to provide free lunches to our children and the students at our school. If it doesn’t, that will bring about other challenges like fundraising and figuring out how to make that work.”

The website states that the school’s inspiration and model comes from both the Common Ground Charter School in Connecticut and the Urban Assembly Harbor School in New York City. While only time will tell if the Rochester River School acquires the funding needed, those interested can support the school by taking their online survey.